Sunday 5/7 – Friday 10/7
Mixed
Sunday 5/7
This day started out with a bunch of thick clouds obscuring large parts of both the sky and Gorsačohkka/
Reindeer passing the tent...
...and the subsequent snowfield
The two people who had come from the north the day before and camped by the lake soon came by and asked about routes towards Hoiganvággi and Riksgränsen, but I had no fresh information about either. As it turned out they were friends of Anna who was to relieve me as warden later on, and they were, in a manner of speaking, out scouting for her benefit. After they had left, continuing into the valley, I observed a shy mink down at the still extensive snowfield by/in the lake, and managed to document its presence before it disappeared.
It was rather cold what with the lack of consistent sunlight, so I set about sawing some more logs, feeling some drops in the westerly wind every now and then. I started a new stack immediately beside the extant one, where there was just enough room, and once I got my working temperature up things felt comfortable. I was somewhat surprised to see the tenting quartet returning down towards Abisko along the trail after all, shortly after which another pair of hikers arrived from that direction, and I gave them some advice about where to camp and walk.
Snow
After lunch (indoors) I lit the heater again, and also this time it took some doing to get it to burn in a stable fashion. Having finished listening to a radio program I then went out for another fishing attempt at the closest spot, but my efforts were met with no success this time either. The weather was slowly improving, with more and more sky visible, and all the peaks were now out, but the wind remained chilly. Three people were coming down the Abiskojaure path, but as they paused high up in the slope I took the opportunity to have dinner.
Flow
Since they still hadn't appeared at the ford when I was done I went over to check, and discovered that they were just about to try the crossing in the rapids upstream, which is the worst place to do so, so I approached on my side of the stream and signed for them to go downwards. Once in the right place they crossed wearing light, low shoes which would never have kept them dry even late in the season, at first attempting to jump on the exposed rocks but in the end they just splashed through the shallow water. The group turned out to consist of a Danish father with his two sons, and I found his dialect (but not theirs) to be of the more understandable kind. They had been on a long tour through Lapporten and the Mårma pass, where there had been a lot of snow, and they now wanted to stay the night, but since they had no reservation I bade them to wait until later in the evening.
A bit later two people and a lively dog came by, but they continued inwards after a chat about present conditions. By then the sky had cleared almost entirely, and it was a terrific evening that boded well for the morrow. Eventually I let the trio inside, after which I read outside until the sun passed behind the ridge, and then listened to some radio before it was time for bed.
Monday 6/7
As expected/hoped the morning was clear and almost still, so I prepared for a day tour before going over to check on the Danes. They were early birds and were already preparing to leave themselves, so I could clean the place out at once. It was already quite warm in the sun, so I expected today's plan of going over to Abiskojaure and back to involve quite a bit of drinking. At 09:15 I was done with everything that needed doing, and set out for the ford.
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Bath
The man on the bench was resting after having gone from Björkliden via Låktatjåkka and then over to the westernmost crossing down into Gorsavággi,
so I interviewed him a bit about conditions along those routes, which he said were a bit tricky towards the end due to melting snow with cracks and open water.
After a cold wash in the lake I went to check inside the guest cottage, which appeared untouched, and then had dinner and dessert.
When I brought the spray bottles over later on the two people I had passed on the way up from Abiskojaure had just arrived, and they would either camp beside the cottage or sleep indoors, depending on the crowds or lack thereof. Some time later said crowds increased from two to six with the arrival of a quartet consisting of three adults and a child, three of whom would be staying two nights. The crowds grew no further so the other guys got their beds too, and eventually I could go to sleep myself, feeling rather spent after a demanding but great day.
Tuesday 7/7
The beautiful weather came to an abrupt end with a lower and extensive (albeit not complete) cloud cover, a good deal of wind, and raindrops in the air. After the two guys had left I set about baking more bread, as the last batch was running out, while the family, now having shed their extra person, went for a day tour up the valley.
After lunch it was sunnier, but still rather windy. Having completed the baking session, which took some time due to several dough rise waits, I went for a short walk. Things were indeed looking up, but there was no real warmth in the air – and especially not in the wind. After dinner I had to go fetch more people upstream who were attempting to ford in the strong and deep current, one of whom was reluctant to acquiesce before he lost one of his slippers to the unheeding waters. This group consisted of four young guys who had their sights set on Låktatjåkka, but upon hearing about current conditions (including temperatures and opening hours) they decided to stay here in the valley and went in search of nearby campsites.
The evening saw more and lower clouds again, and it was indeed chilly. I had seen a couple of people approaching along the winter trail, but in the end they found the summer path; apparently they had walked most of the stretch through the valley along the former route, and were understandably fatigued by all the osier thickets this involved. They had a reservation for the night, so I showed them in and gave them some pointers (literally) about the way to Abiskojaure which they were to take the following day, after which there was nothing much to do but go to bed myself.
Wednesday 8/7
The morning was cloudy, but neither windy nor rainy. What it did bring, however, was a new tent pitched up on the nearby hill which hadn't been there the night before, but it was all quiet now. After some paperwork a trio came along the trail, and after the usual advice re: paths&snow they paused to consider their options, while I cleaned half the guest cottage after the family had left; the other two were still in bed. While I waited for them to arise and get going I thought I'd try my hand at fishing again, since the fish were now visibly and frequently breaking the surface.
I went down to the same place as usual and tried to reach the appearing circles, but being unable to quite do so I soon changed to a heavier spinner and waited for another appearance. This did the trick, and I had one on almost immediately; it turned out to be a semi-large arctic char that would do nicely for dinner (and some to spare). The whole outing had taken less than a quarter, but since the objective was now met and I needed no more this day I simply brought up my catch and gutted it outside.
Calm lake
Catch of the day
Having had lunch I caught the occupants of the new tent as they left and headed down again; they had had quite a bit of trouble with the water levels in the streams the day before, and therefore arrived rather late (hence the nightly camping). I proceeded to make a requested report to Abisko Naturum about the conditions along the trails and paths, and then did the same to the reception in Abisko. The couple then finally left and I guided them across the ford, but they had delayed their departure for so long that it had now started to rain.
Another couple presently arrived from Abisko, and after some deliberation they opted to camp beside the cottage. The rain had now passed, and shortly thereafter another man came down the Abiskojaure path, determinedly splashing across the ford and nearly falling over several times in so doing. Thus being completely wet from the knees down he too chose to pay the service fee in order to dry his shoes, but camp outside. The weather was now rather nice again, and the sun warmed the air noticeably, but there were more showers in store.
As I was having a very nice char dinner three new cottage dwellers came, followed by two Finns who had braved quarantine and were quite happy to put up their tent some distance away from everyone else. I finished eating, including a dessert, and saved the last bit of fish for breakfast. A family with two children then arrived who would also be staying inside, so now both rooms were in use again. Having settled everyone I walked around a bit myself, noting that the four guys were still camped among the hills, and as I turned in around 22 it was back to cloudy.
A couple of shots...
...of a sudden rainbow
The hill people
Thursday 9/7
It was another dreary-looking day from the start, with a bit of light rain, but as the morning progressed it grew a bit lighter. Having furnished the family with makeshift walking sticks for the kids I watched them take on and complete the ford without too much hassle. The trio were heading out for a day tour up the valley, and the two tenters soon left for Abisko taking the high route across the northern rises. Soon the other campers were finally on the move as well, and I sat down for lunch in solitude.
In the afternoon two people came over from Abiskojaure, but they only paid a visit to the privy before continuing further into the valley. They were "followed" by another couple from Abisko, consisting of one Swede and one German, who sat down for a food break against the cottage before attacking the ford. After they were safely on their way up the other side another four people came, being led by the "31-kg guy" from before who had now brought friends (as previously announced), and they too sat down and had food before deciding where to go next. Another two campers stopped by for some advice before going further in-valley, after which the day tour trio returned along the Låktatjåkka path. The quartet had decided to camp somewhere up the slope in preparation for going that way on the morrow, and left to do so.
Better visibility up the valley
Hilltop
Gorsačohkka nearly free
It was a bit lighter in the evening, but this was quickly reversed when a rain haze sped out from the inner parts of the valley. Yet another camping pair arrived and eventually pitched their tent up on the nearby hill, after which I had to go quite far upstream to fetch two new arrivals from Abiskojaure who were also confused about where the ford was supposed to take place; they had a tent but given the unstable weather they requested beds and were let in at least for a while.
Wet evening
Since the route mistakes were now becoming a trend I called up Abiskojaure to stress what advice to give hikers heading this way, but since not everyone asks before setting off that still might not catch all cases – and as if to illustrate the point I had to go fetch another pair upstream just minutes after hanging up. These were also campers who wanted to stay indoors if possible, especially since the rain was now getting worse, and since the other (booked) guests had already gone to bed the two duos had to share the other room if they agreed to do so – which they gladly did. As I prepared for bed myself the rain kept pouring down, but the clouds were fairly high and visibility mostly good.
Friday 10/7
It was a rainy night, but when I got up in the morning it had stopped. The trio left fairly early and made me aware of a nightly visit by a wet tenter, but there was neither anyone extra inside nor an extra tent nearby now. A helicopter was making several landing runs to the topmost visible part of the Abiskojaure route, for reasons unknown, but eventually it continued on over the ridge southwards. Suddenly I noticed that the woodshed door was ajar, and going over to close it I discovered that that wet tenter had taken up residence inside, but as he looked fast asleep and no one was in need of firewood at the moment I let him be for now.
I took to cleaning the vacated room instead, after which the two up-the-valley campers came back, and we had a brief chat before they went on towards Abisko. Then it was time to wake up the shed guy; he had come from Trollsjön and managed to fall into some kind of water along the way, which together with the rain explained the wetness. Since the shed had not done that much drying wise he took the service fee option and set about making a fire in the empty room, while the weather slowly improved.
Light
Lake monster
After lunch I observed someone working around some of the tripods the scientists had put up earlier, later followed by two others also from the direction of the research station. There had been some other movement along the trail as well, and soon a family of four came by; they were headed for Unna Allakas and eventually Katterjåkk, so we spoke for a while about the paths, trails, fords and snow before they sat down on the lee side of the guest cottage for lunch. They were followed by two people with light packs, being on a quick day visit, and after the woodshed guy had dried up and left another two arrived; these were campers who were headed for Abiskojaure the next day, so the usual pointers followed.
Misty
Spot the hiker
Not long thereafter the first tripod worker came by, and as expected she was a colleague to the two who had put them up – and those two were also as expected the other two I had seen previously. I talked to her for a good while, comparing wilderness notes as it were, and I also learnt that the aforementioned pair were to stay in the cottage again once they were done with the day's work. Then she went on inwards, while the family made their way across the ford under a bit of a ruckus. I proceeded to construct a support for the entrance washing station, lest the weight of the filled bucket bring it down eventually, and then by chance discovered a lost temperature sensor I could splice onto one of two incomplete digital thermometers, so I could finally have a reliable gauge.
As I was having dinner two people walked down from Abiskojaure, and this time they took the correct route. They took quite a long time finishing up, and when they finally came up onto the hill I learnt that they were also campers who were headed for Abisko, but for now saught a campsite close by westwards. Later in the evening the two scientists from before came at last, and soon yet another pair from Abiskojaure took the ford, nearly falling in due to a suboptimal choice of heading through the deeper parts. Once across they chose to have a late dinner next to the old warden's cottage before heading downstream. I had a photo visit by a quartet who had taken up camping position on the larger headland in the lake, and after saying goodnight to the tripod guys I went to bed at 22:15.
A loon on the lake...
...visiting the nearby campers
Vássečohkka shrouded